Jang Won-young's Favorite PDRN Leads the Next Scientific Wave of K-Beauty

K-beauty had its own spotlight at one of the global cosmetics industry's biggest gatherings this month. Cosmax, the world's top cosmetics ODM (original design manufacturer), said on May 26 that it presented K-beauty trends and active-ingredient technology at the 2026 NYSCC Suppliers' Day, held May 19–20 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

Suppliers' Day is a global trade show for cosmetic ingredients and technology, hosted by the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NYSCC). Last year's edition drew about 670 companies from 74 countries and more than 10,000 beauty brand and R&D professionals.

This year, the event held its first large-scale session built specifically around K-beauty. NYSCC framed K-beauty's rise as more than a passing trend, calling it a "global movement." The session was ticketed, but still pulled in about 100 attendees, a clear sign of how closely the global industry is watching the category.

In the session, titled "The Next Wave of K-Beauty Trends," Cosmax strategy marketing team head Roh Jung-kyun and Park Se-ho, a senior researcher at the Cosmax BTI R&I Unit, walked the audience through where K-beauty stands now and where it is heading.

Roh singled out PDRN as the ingredient with the most room to grow. "Among the next-generation ingredients drawing attention in the beauty market right now, I rate PDRN the highest in terms of market scalability and potential," he said. Over the next two to three years, he said, skincare will be shaped by continued strength for PDRN, the rise of skin longevity ingredients such as NAD+, and a bigger role for bio-based materials like microbiome ingredients. The next round of competition, he added, will move past the era of a single "hero ingredient." What will set products apart is pairing strong actives with delivery systems that improve absorption and formulation technology that keeps them stable.

He pointed to EGF as an example of how older ingredients can come back. EGF has been used in cosmetics for more than a decade and is having another moment as the wellness trend grows. "When strong technology, a clear marketing philosophy and real consumer demand all line up, popularity in the market tends to last," he said.

A Cosmax representative said K-beauty is leading global trends on the strength of three things: product efficacy, the speed at which brands act on consumer feedback, and original marketing. "As consumers get more knowledgeable about ingredients and how they work, we plan to invest more in innovative R&D and strengthen our position as a leader in K-beauty," the representative said.

The session points to where the conversation around K-beauty is moving. The category is no longer being sold abroad on packaging or trend cycles alone. It is being judged on ingredient science, and Korean manufacturers are stepping onto that stage as the ones setting the agenda.